


Best Friends at Seven, Rivals at Eighteen

by currysaws



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Childhood Friends, Friends to Rivals, M/M, Rivalry, Soccer AU, To friends Again, can be romantic or platonic up to reader, ot21 mentioned or appears at some point, sports AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-12-07 10:08:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20974142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/currysaws/pseuds/currysaws
Summary: Alternatively, a peek of Dejun and Kunhang's relationship and their love for the soccer ball throughout the years





	Best Friends at Seven, Rivals at Eighteen

  
  


_ Seven _

“Dejun can you come here for a moment?”

Dejun dropped his soccer ball and ran up to his mother, half expecting a glass of milk in her hand. What greeted him, however, was a tall, beautiful woman. Hiding behind her legs, was a boy with bangs covering his eyes. He spotted Dejun and hid himself further behind his mother.

“Dejun, come meet our new neighbours,” Dejun’s mother said.

“It’s nice to meet you,” the strange woman said and gently shoved the boy in front of her. “This is my son Kunhang.”

Dejun stared at the boy for a moment. He was a little bit taller than Dejun. His hair was long and slightly covered his face, not at all like Dejun’s neat haircut. The boy offered him a small smile which Dejun returned.

“I’m Dejun and I’m seven.”

“Kunhang. I’m seven too,” Guanheng said before burrowing his face slightly in his mother’s arm.

The two women shared a quiet laugh at their conversation before Dejun’s mother said, “Do you like soccer Kunhang?”

Seeing Kunhang nodding shyly at his mother’s question, Dejun exclaimed, “Me too! Do you want to play with me?”

“Can I?” Kunhang asked his mother.

“I don’t see why not,” she said.

The two ran out to the backyard where Dejun kept his ball. Dejun kicked the ball towards Kunhang who accepted it and began dribbling around the yard. Dejun ran after Kunhang, receiving the ball once it was passed to him and kicking it between the two sticks he set up as his goal post.

“You’re really good,” Kunhang said.

“You think so?” Dejun’s face split into a huge grin at the compliment. “You’re really good too.”

“Thank you,” Kunhang said. “It’s been a while since I played. Nobody wants to play with me.”

“Really?”

Kunhang shook his head. “My sisters think it’s lame. They tell me to go away whenever I ask them to play.”

“They sound lame,” Dejun said. “Well, you can play with me.”

Kunhang’s face lit up at the offer. “Are you sure?”

“Of course. We’re friends now.”

“Friends. I like that.” Dejun passed the ball to Kunhang and the two began running around in the afternoon sun once again.

-

_ Thirteen _

“Get up you lazy dog,” Dejun tried shoving Kunhang who was currently laid out on top of him.

“But I’m comfortable like this,” Kunhang said. “You make a nice mattress.”

Dejun shoved Kunhang once again who, mercifully, rolled of him. Kunhang stood up and began playing with a soccer ball. Dejun rolled onto his stomach to watch him. Kunhang was talented, there was no denying it. Even at a young age it was easy to see how much of a natural he was with the ball. It wasn’t even a ball anymore, Kunhang handled it like it was an extension of his body.

“You’re practicing really hard,” Dejun teased.

“I have to,” Kunhang said. “How else am I going to get into Neo High?”

Neo High was the boys’ dream school. Known for their soccer program, Neo High had won the high school soccer league for the last five years. The school offered scholarships for two players each year. Scholarships that the two boys had been eyeing for sometime now. All their conversations over the last month had been about Neo High and Neo High only.

“You’ll get in. You’re really talented. Me on the other hand,” Dejun sighed.

Dejun knew he wasn’t as talented as Kunhang was. He was a good player. But he stumbled a little too much, missed goals a little bit too often. He could play, sure, but he wasn’t as powerful or as graceful as Kunhang was in the field.

“Hey,” Kunhang frowned. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re a talented player, don’t ever think otherwise.”

“I can’t play like you.”

“Of course not,” Kunhang said. “You’re not me so obviously you’re not going to play like me, dummy. You’re Xiao Dejun and you play like Xiao Dejun, the greatest soccer player I know.”

“What if Xiao Dejun isn’t good enough for Neo High?”

“Then they’re dumb and they don’t deserve you.” Kunhang said wrapping his arm around Dejun, who leaned his head on his shoulder.

After a moment, Dejun said, “If I don’t get into Neo High and we go to different schools, we’ll still be friends right?”

“Of course. Nothing will break us,” Kunhang grinned, dark hair flopping down into his face.

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

-

_ Fifteen _

Neo High was a lot larger than it looked. Dejun learned this the hard way as he sprinted from the changing room into the soccer field. The game was about to start any minute and he had somehow gotten lost in this maze of a school. His captain was going to murder him.

“Finally,” Kun, his captain, said once he finally reached them. “Thought you bailed out last minute.”

“I would never,” Dejun huffed at him.

Kun just shrugged and said, “Wouldn’t be the first if you did. A lot of people get cold feet at the thought of playing against Neo.”

“I don’t see why, honestly,” Ten, an upperclassman, said. “We’re just as good as them. Maybe even better, honestly they suck balls.”

Kun shot Ten a disapproving glare and turned to the rest of the team. “Not the words I would’ve used, but he’s right. Remember that all of you can play as well as they do. Now hands in.”

One by one, each boy placed their hand on top of another, waiting as their captain began counting to three, before shouting at the top of their lungs, “Vision!”

Dejun ran out into the field, wincing slightly as the bright sun hit his face. The stands were filled, mostly with the green of Neo High, but every so often he would see the red of V high. The sight made him stand a little taller, they were counting on the team and he would not let them down.

A loud cheer erupted throughout the audience and Dejun didn’t have to turn to realise that Neo’s team had entered the field. Out of the corner of his eye, Dejun spotted a mop of black hair running in green uniform. The sight sent a slight pang to his chest as he watched the boy run around the field. Kunhang.

Kunhang had made it into Neo as expected. Full scholarship. Dejun did not.

Dejun wasn’t jealous of Kunhang. He knew that he wasn’t quite as good as Kunhang was and that Kunhang had work tirelessly day and night to get that scholarship. No Dejun wasn’t jealous, in fact he was happy for Kunhang.

But Dejun did miss his best friend. Going to different schools meant that Kunhang and Dejun couldn’t walk to school together anymore. No more studying together, no more going out for ice cream together. Definitely no more playing soccer together. 

Dejun was pulled away from his thoughts by the sound of a shrill whistle, signalling that the game was about to begin. He took his place next to Sicheng, one of his teammates, and watched as Kun went up Neo’s captain to shake hands. The whistle blew once more. Game time.

All the stories about how legendary Neo was were true. They were good, like a well oiled machine moving to attack left and right, an attempt that Dejun, Sicheng and Ten tried to match to score their first goal. Unfortunately for them, as good as Neo’s attack was, their defense was even better. A tall boy with Jung written on his jersey stood guard in front of the goal, easily blocking strike after strike.

The crowd of green erupted into cheers when Neo finally scored their first goal. Dejun sent Yukhei, their goalkeeper a quick smile before turning his focus back onto the ball. Spotting it with a Neo player, he sprinted after it. Eyes only on the ball, Dejun didn’t realise the foot in his path, causing him to stumble with one of Neo’s players.

The sound of the referee’s whistle rang throughout the field as his teammates began running after him. The boy Dejun fell with, Kim according to the name on his back, sent him a sheepish smile and said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t see you running my way.”

Just as Dejun was about to open his mouth, he heard Ten’s furious voice. “What do you mean that wasn’t a foul?”

“It was clearly an accident,” the referee shrugged. “They both didn’t see where they were going.”

“Please,” Ten scoffed. “Kim clearly did that on purpose.”

“Excuse me,” another Kim, this one slightly resembling a bunny, took a step towards Ten. “Jungwoo didn’t do anything. Your boy was the one who tackled him.”

“Why would he do that? Your team is the one who needs to cheat to win,” Ten shouted.

Bunny Kim curled his hand into a fist and said, “Listen here you little-“

“Doyoung enough,” Neo’s captain, Nakamoto, said. Turning to Dejun and Kun, he said, “I’m really sorry about him.”

Kun smiled at Nakamoto, “Don’t worry about it. I’m sorry about Ten too.”

Nakamoto returned the smile before dragging Doyoung and the original Kim away. Behind him, Dejun heard Ten huff and say, “I don't know why you apologised. They’re all just snakes who want to win only.”

“Ten,” Kun said. “Enough.”

“But-“

“I said enough.”

Dejun stood up and followed Kun and Ten to take up their places once more. His mind, however, was no longer on the game. No, his mind was on Kunhang. Kunhang who didn’t go up to him and asked him if he was okay. Kunhang who didn’t even bother looking in his direction when he fell.

Where did his best friend Kunhang go?

“You alright?” Sicheng said.

Dejun nodded and gave him a small smile. Ten popped up between the two, wrapping an arm around each boy and said, “Don’t worry about Neo. They’re all assholes anyways.”

“Ten,” Sicheng said.

“What?” Ten said. “It’s true. They’re probably playing dirty because they know we’re their biggest rival and the only one with a realistic chance of ending their winning streak.”

The referee blew the whistle once more causing the three boys to run. As he was running, Dejun caught a glimpse of Kunhang out of the corner of his eye. Rivals. Guess that’s where they stood now.

-

_ Eighteen _

“Vision!”

Three years on and the cheer never failed to make the shivers run down his spine. He could hear the beating of his heart as the crowd roared when they entered the field. He felt his excitement grow with the crowd as adrenaline rushed through his body.

Xiao Dejun was no longer the tiny first year running around trying to catch up with his seniors. No, Xiao Dejun was now the captain of V High’s soccer team, the player who scored the winning goal in the final game, ending Neo High’s winning streak. He was their backbone, their weapon, their ace.

Despite all that, Dejun knew deep down he never really changed. He was still just as small as he was three years ago and his love for the game was just as big. Smiling to himself, he entered the field. This was it. His last game for V High.

Dejun watched as his teammates took their place in the field. Yukhei’s wide smile still graced itself in front of the goal post, but long gone were the days of Kun, Sicheng and Ten. Instead, the bright faces of Huang Renjun, Liu Yangyang and Zhong Chenle took their places.

The sound of the referee’s whistle signalled the start of the match. Dejun went up to the middle of the field, facing none other than Wong Kunhang himself. 

If Dejun was V’s ace then Kunhang was Neo’s. Kunhang was somehow even more talented than he was years ago, graceful yet aggressive in the field. It was no surprise that Kunhang was made captain and all eyes were on him to return the trophy back to Neo.

“Good luck,” Kunhang said. “You’re going to need it.”

“Please,” Dejun said. “Pretty sure you’ll need it more than we do.”

“We’re taking it back, just you wait.”

The whistle blew once more and Dejun quickly took control of the ball, Kunhang right on his heels. Dejun sprinted across the field with the ball before spotting Chenle and passing it to him. Right as Chenle was about to kick the ball into the goal, Kunhang came rushing in to steal the ball.

This was going to be a long game.

Dejun furrowed his eyebrows and wiped away his sweat as he stared at the field. The game seemed to be going nowhere. Every time they looked like they were about to score, someone from Neo would come swooping in the last minute to take it from them. They needed a new strategy and they needed fast.

Neo had clearly learned from their mistakes last year and they seemed even more powerful than ever. Their team seemed to work like a well-oiled machine. From Park at the goal blocking score after score like it was child’s play to the two Lees’ constant attack. 

Then there was Kunhang. Years later and Dejun still never got over how beautiful Kunhang looked playing. Each step was confident, each kick powerful, each turn graceful. In a way Kunhang was a dance and the field was his stage.

The referee signalled a quick break and Dejun turned to his team, “We need to find away to crack to their defense.”

“Maybe we should try tricking Park?” Yangyang suggested. “Confuse him a bit so we can score?”

“That might work,” Renjun said, “but we still need to get through the double Lee.”

“You and I will try to get as close as possible to the goal,” Dejun said to Renjun. “Yangyang and Chenle can watch our backs for the Lees.”

“Watch out for Na too,” Yukhei said. “He’s not as aggressive as the Lees or Wong but I have a feeling that he’s just as good as they are.”

Dejun nodded and said, “And you-“

“Make sure my eyes are always open, pay attention to my surroundings and don’t get tricked,” Yukhei smiled. “Don’t worry cap, I know the drill.”

“Alright then,” Dejun said. “Let’s win this game.”

The team dispersed out into the field when Dejun felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Kunhang’s smiling face staring down at him. “Ready for Neo to take back the crown?”

“Please,” Dejun rolled his eyes. “I’d like to see you try.”

-

_ Nineteen _

The sharp scent of grass surrounded Dejun, soothing his nerves slightly. Dejun took a deep breath, reminding himself that it was just another field, just another team.

But it wasn't just another team. This was SM University's soccer team, the number one university team in the country. And somehow, Dejun had made it.

Scanning the field, Dejun spotted the team's captain, a Nakamoto Yuta that Dejun had remembered as Neo High's captain when he first started. Now, Yuta was sweet and charming, filled with nothing but encouraging words to everyone who had tried out for the team. Yuta gave Dejun one of his infamous smiles and said, "You're early."

Dejun shrugged, "Wanted to warm up a bit before everyone else."

"Seems like you're not the only one with that idea," Yuta said. "Kunhang's here too. Why don't you warm up with him?"

Dejun nodded, not having the heart to tell Yuta that it was a bad idea. Dejun made his way across the field to where Kunhang was warming up, before stopping and staring at Kunhang, unsure whether or not to approach him.

Kunhang turned his head, pausing when he saw Dejun, who turned his face away. Kunhang stared for a few moments, seemingly millions to Dejun, before getting up to approach Dejun.

"Can I help you?" Kunhang asked.

"Yuta said I should stretch with you," Dejun fumbled with his fingers.

Kunhang stared at him once more before walking back to his previous spot. Dejun's heart fell until Kunhang turned to look at him. "You coming?"

Dejun nodded his head furiously and ran after Kunhang. The two stretched in silence, enjoying the warm morning sun on their backs. Once they were done, Kunhang picked up a ball, dribbled it slightly before passing it to Dejun.

Dejun received the ball, surprised that Kunhang would initiate such a thing. Unsure of himself, Dejun passed the ball back to Kunhang.

The two continued on passing the ball back and forth. Dejun felt a slight pang in his chest, remembering the times the two would do this in his backyard. Staring at Kunhang now, Dejun could almost see the boy he used to run around with.

“Been a while.”

“What?” Dejun cursed his mouth for running away like that.

“I said it’s been a while,” Dejun took a deep breath. “Since we played like this.”

Silence enveloped the two of them, Dejun could almost hear his heart beating as he stared at Kunhang. Much to his surprise, Kunhang broke out into a smile, reminiscent to the smile Kunhang gave him all those years ago when they first met. “It has, hasn’t it?”

Before Dejun could say anything else, Yuta called out their names. Turning in his direction, they saw that the rest of the team had arrived and ran out to them. He and Kunhang shared a smile before running out to join the others.

Kunhang and Yuta weren’t the only familiar faces on the team. Johnny Suh, Jung Jaehyun and Mark Lee, all former Neo players, were part of SM’s team, and so was Sicheng. 

Sicheng and Jaehyun seemed to find him and Kunhang practicing together to be an interesting subject as they began whispering to each other the moment they saw the two. They approached Dejun as they were doing laps around the field, one flanking him on either side. Sicheng stared at him expectedly and said, “I didn’t know you and Kunhang were friends.”

“We’re not really,” Dejun said. “Not now at least.”

“Not now,” Jaehyun said, “but you were at one point?”

Dejun couldn’t understand why they were suddenly prying into his life, yet he couldn’t help his tongue when he said, “We were really close as kids. Guess we kind of drifted apart when his he went to Neo and I went to V.”

Sicheng and Jaehyun shared knowing glances, causing Dejun to turn his head in confusion between the two. Sicheng smiled at Dejun’s confusion and said, “Neo against V. Haven’t heard that in a while.”

Dejun frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Jaehyun broke into a wide smile. “Nothing. It’s just that you’re going to spend a lot of time together now. You never know what’s going to come out of that.”

Before Dejun could ask further, the two sprinted away, leaving Dejun with his own confusion. What did they mean by that? What would come out of all this? Kunhang as his best friend again?

Jaehyun and Sicheng weren’t wrong. Dejun and Kunhang did spend a lot of time together. As the school months went along, Dejun and Kunhang never broke away from their habit of arriving early to practice and warmed up together. Before they knew it, coming early turned to walking to practice together and going to eat after practice together.

Spending time with Kunhang felt nice, it was almost like he got his best friend back. The Kunhang who would run around playing with him all those years ago was finally his again. 

Deep down, Dejun wondered if this arrangement would last. If Kunhang really enjoyed practicing and hanging out with him or if he was just doing this for the sake of the team. They were close, sure. But Kunhang left him once all those years ago. Who's to say that he won’t leave again?

These ugly thoughts presented themselves in Dejun’s head one night while he was having dinner with Kunhang. Unable to stop himself, Dejun asked, “Why did you hate me? Back in high school?”

Kunhang choked on the noodles he was slurping on, causing soup to spray out from his mouth. Dejun handed him a napkin as he patiently waited for Kunhang to answer. Once he calmed down, Kunhang said, “I never hated you.”

Dejun frowned. “But you ignored me all those years ago. Then you started saying all those things about V.”

“Hey you said mean things about Neo too,” Kunhang huffed. His expression, however, turned serious as he said, “I never meant to ignore you though.”

“You didn’t?”

“No,” Kunhang said. “I really did get busy with soccer and school and all that stuff. Eventually we just stopped talking and I didn’t know how to start anymore.”

“Oh.”

“I was jealous of you though.”

“What?” Kunhang jealous of him? Perfect Kunhang who was so good at everything he did. Kunhang who had a string of admirers behind him jealous of plain, old Dejun?

“Everyone always comes talked about how good you were. How you were the ace of V and how you were going to carry the team to victory,” Kunhang said.

“But Kunhang,” Dejun frowned, “they said that about you too. People were always going on about you being their best striker since Lee Taeyong.”

“Exactly,” Kunhang said. “They always compares me to Taeyong or Yuta, even to Moon Taeil once. I hated that. I wanted people to know me as Kunhang. Not the next Taeyong or Yuta or whoever. That’s why I was so jealous of you. People always talked about how talented you are, not how good you are compared to someone else.”

“I never realised you felt like that.”

“How could you? We stopped talking by that point,” Kunhang sighed. “I guess I was scared that I’d never be good enough to be like them.”

“Because you’re not,” Kunhang raised an eyebrow at Dejun. “You’re not good enough to be like them because you’re not them. You’re not the next Lee Taeyong or Moon Taeil or Nakamoto Yuta. You’re the first Wong Kunhang and that’s what makes you the greatest player out there.”

Kunhang stared at Dejun for a few moments before launching himself to Dejun, arms tight around him. “Thank you. For all that. I needed to hear that I guess. And I’m sorry for treating you so badly for the past couple years.”

Dejun just laughed and patted Kunhang’s head. “Don’t be. I haven’t been the greatest either.”

“Let’s start over then,” Kunhang said. “Get to know each other again?”

“Alright,” Dejun smiled at him. “I’m Dejun and I’m twenty years old. I love playing soccer.”

“Nice to meet you Dejun,” Kunhang returned the smile with one just as bright. “I’m Kunhang. I’m also twenty and I love playing soccer too. I think you and I will be good friends.”

**Author's Note:**

> The italic texts are they ages btw.  
I’m sure this isn’t what the prompter expected (tbh this isn’t how I expected the story to turn out either) but I hope you enjoy anyways


End file.
